Have a chance to be in Denver late this week and a friend and I are considering climbing Yellow Spur on Thursday. The forecast seems good (mid-50s high), though I have no idea the aspect it faces.

We've haven't really climbed in Eldo, but are both comfortable and experienced 5.10 trad leaders.

Would Yellow Spur be a good route choice for a single day in Eldo for unfamiliar climbers?

Andy

I think you'd be fine with weather/temps. All the "hard" climbing has lots of fixed gear and everything else is cruiser. Just get some beta on the descent and on pitches to link. The vertigo raps are by far the best IMO.

The sun does not start to come around the corner until ~10am, so the first pitch or two may be a little cold. The Dirty Deed raps will get you down with a single 60m, but you will need to do a couple 4th class down climbs.

I keep procrastinating (but pine'ing) for this route. Andy I felt Eldo was a good measure for the Tetons. This pic gives you a pretty fair idea of what the start looks like (#105974344 - on the mp.com route) -- you can see Grandmother's Challenge in the background; that's a pretty good vantage of where you should be.

Also may want to consider: The Green Spur/Rewritten, both great lines and offer pro (& a walkoff -- if concerned about time committment & decent. Though snow & ice may make for the need to do a single rap). These routes start just uphill from the YS start; then come down and hit Darkness till Dawn (2 rope decent on this I think??).

I believe these are W/SW aspects. If not, one of the Boulderites will most certainly/notoriously correct anything wrong.

If you go with the mindset to treat Eldo like the Tetons, you'll be fine & have a good experience. (Oh, having the opportunity of going during the week instead of weekend is a total bonus).

I am pretty sure they face south west. if not west. Lots of sun if there are no clouds. WIth the long days now if your at the base of the route around 10am your money for the whole thang and still have time for beers in the parking lot with some sun shine.
You chose a fine route. A later start is ok as like posted above the sun hits a little later and hold through the afternoon. The majority of "fixed gear" and the hard stuff is really the last or second to last depending on how you do it. There is not much else on the route worth clipping really. I have only gotten off that route one way and that was down the dirty chimney gulley to your left as yoru climbing up the route. dont make the mistake on the last rap to rap off the tree with tons of webbing on it. This will put you assed out on a sport route leaving a single bolt rap or a jug back up. head behind the tree to its north? maybe NW but you will then see rap anchors in the actual chimney gully. This rap will get you down near the start of Rewritten. this beta may be a bit shotty as I am knee deep in work. Feel free to PM for additional beta. I have done that route about 5 or 6 times.
have fun.

I would STRONGLY recommend the Chockstone Chimney/Vertigo raps versus the aptly named Dirty Deed raps mentioned twice here. And, for god's sake, don't downclimb the east slabs, which is only slightly worse than DD. Mark Nelson, having had to cut a rope in the DD, will vouch for this.

As previously pointed out, make sure you study the beta for this descent as it is not super easy to find the bolts. Charles Vernon provides an excellent description. See his first comment on the Yellow Spur page of this site.

This is a quality route. You shouldn't be disappointed.

You can link pitches if you are wanting to speed things up. the 2nd & 3rd, and the last two. I would also recommend the sport 5.10 variation on the crux pitch is is really exciting, safer and great line. Enjoy. I am pretty sure the aspect is westsouthwest. I have been on that route multiple times. When first climbing in eldo I found it very helpful to bring a topo up with me because sometimes the line is not always obvious but with yellow spur it is pretty obvious (except for one travese) Good ledges for belays. have fun.

One more thing: the tree to which Charles refers for the second rappel is no longer there. It has been replaced by bolts and a chain. The disadvantage of this is that chains are harder to locate than a big tree, particularly if they're hidden from view until you're on top of them.

So if you scramble up to the top of the slab, as Charles says, and then downclimb the other side of it via the obvious weakness, the bolts will appear. From here it's two more raps--one short and one long--with a single 60m rope, or one long rap with a pair of 60s.

If you've never climbed in Eldo, make sure your face climbing skills are up to par. Although naturally protected, there is typically a mix of crack and face in Eldo. The first few pitches will be cold this time of year...the upper pitches will be in direct light. it is also a very popular line, so being first on is a plus.

As with many Eldo climbs, long runners are important to reduce drag. The overall line goes up, but there are a few traversing zig zags in the first few pitches where rope drag can get bad (especially when combining pitches). Make sure to study the topo or bring a copy.

Make sure to bring enough runners/ quickdraws for the bolt ladder.

Also, the direct start(10a) is a bit bouldery but much better than the stupid 5.9 traverse in with weird fall potential. The upper crux is amazing, lots of air under your but at that point. The summit pyramid and descent to the raps is easy but a very airy traverse, awesome summit for a rock climb.

Last but not least... consider carrying water if it is at all warm, the wind, sun, and exposed position lead to massive drying effects. My partner and I split 1/2 a liter during a spring ascent, and we were both incredibly thirsty at the end... East slabs descent sucks big time, leaves you very far from your packs! Never had a problem with the Dirty Deed Rappels, If you can get to the Chockstone chimney/vertigo raps, they are much cleaner/easier, but you have to know what you're looking for.(and it all looks the same if you've never been there.)

FWIW, I usually think of that face as being in the sun after 11am-ish. It definitely has a southwesterly aspect. It's supposed to be warmer by Thursday with a high ~59 F, but the low is ~33 F, addendum: winds predicted by NOAA at 15-25mph, which means hats and windstopper or some equivalent at least to start the day. Another option for descent can be traversing left to the tree ~35' from the top on Swanson's. Then, 3 double rope rappels gets you down. 1st one crosses the arete to a big tree left of Dirty Deed. Last one goes off a very large tree on the Red Ledge to the ground. Double 50s or 60s work well. Also, you may find the Robbins' traverse left on P6 more palatable for early season fingers than the 10b direct finish. Finally, that tree on P1's belay was creaking last time I was on it, but it may be gone now.

Dirty Deed rap is straightforward, i've done it probably 50 times and never had a problem with ropes getting stuck or loose/dirty stuff. It's a great name, keeps people on the Vertigo raps and out of the way (good luck rapping down that on your 1st time!!!). Also, east slabs are a great decent if you are climbing with all your gear and want to get back to that beer at the car in a more direct fashion (may be tricky 1st time however). If you're climbing 5.10 trad around Colorado, this route should pose no problems.
Also, the 5.9 start is fine. The 5.10 direct start is much more dangerous, ask around (I know 3 people who have fallen on that start, albeit short falls to the ground and all 3 got back up and fired).
Enjoy, it's a fun one. Also Green Spur/Green Slab direct are good one's in that area at approximately that grade.